Citizens for Fire Safety

Citizens for Fire Safety (CFFS) claims on its Web site to be "a coalition of fire professionals, educators, burn centers, doctors, fire departments and industry leaders, united to ensure that our country is protected by the highest standards of fire safety." But the group is reported to be a lobbying front for the chemical industry, which opposes legislation to ban a type of decabrominated diphenyl ether that has been used for decades as a fire retardant in furniture. Critics say the chemical breaks down into a toxin, and is suspected of harming the environment.

The Environmental Health Fund in Massachusetts explains that PBDEs are polybrominated diphenyl ethers, toxic flame retardants added to products such as televisions, computers, textiles, building materials, infant car seats and strollers. Laboratory studies show that PBDEs may harm the developing brain, impair sperm development, and impair thyroid function. Washington State and Maine have banned three of the most widely used PBDEs and many states are considering following suit, based upon evidence that these chemicals are persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic.4 Chemical manufacturers of PBDEs have a direct financial interest in preventing limits on the use of their product. They have organized themselves to oppose policies to require non-toxic fire safety through PBDE restrictions that are advancing across the U.S.

Four principal corporations that manufacture PBDEs are Albemarle, Israel Chemicals Limited (ICL), Chemtura, and Tosoh. When they saw that some of their flame retardant products were coming under regulatory pressure, they contracted with Burson-Marsteller, the giant global public relations firm, to change public and legislative perceptions about the hazards associated with PBDEs.

CFFS forms “chapters” in states where it actively lobbies, including Connecticut, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts and Minnesota. In California, a related organization called “Californians for Fire Safety” was created by the public relations consulting firm Jacobson Communications, and is explicitly listed on the lobbyist registration website.

External resources

 * Citizens for Fire Safety Exposed: A Chemical Industry Front Group for Manufacturers of Toxic Flame Retardants (PBDEs) (pdf)

Contact
Citizens For Fire Safety Grant Gilham, Executive Director P.O. Box 602065 Sacramento, CA 95860-2065